Easy Does It
by someonestolemyshoes49
Summary: Quick one-shot set after 'Seeing Red' - How Lisbon reacts to Jane's state at the end of the episode. My first attempt at a Mentalist hurt/comfort. Jane/Lisbon if you squint. Please R&R, make me happy. Enjoy, I hope


**A/N: Okay! So, here's my fourth Mentalist one-shot! This is a little different to my others, being that it revolves around the whole hurt/comfort genre, which I'm awful at writing. But, I thought I'd give it a shot, because this idea wouldn't leave me alone. **

** Since this is set directly after 'Seeing Red', it comes after only one of my other fics, being 'A lesson in Body Language.' As in my other one-shots, there is a subtle link to that very first one, though it's quite hard to spot and doesn't necessarily require that one to be read first. It would be nice if you read it anyway, but it's not a life-or-death situation, so if you don't want to, that's cool too. **

** Disclaimer; No, I don't own the Mentalist. I wish. **

** Apologies for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes. **

** On with the show!**

"Hey, Boss?" Van Pelt asked, tapping on the frame of Lisbon's office door. Lisbon lifted her eyes and raised her brows in wait. "Something's wrong with Jane."

Lisbon laughed a little. "What's not wrong with Jane?" Her smile faded when Van Pelts eyes lowered to the floor. "Van Pelt?"

Grace took a moment to reply, twisting and turning her next words over and over in her mind, debating whether Jane would want her to tell Lisbon what she'd seen.

"Grace?" Lisbon said, her toner both calmer and cooler than it had been before.

"He's crying." There, she thought, it's said now.

Lisbon stood and tucked her chair back under her desk. Her movement's weren't as frantic as Van Pelt had anticipated.

"Where is he?" She asked, her voice gentle.

"Interrogation room Four."

Lisbon nodded and thanked the rookie, brushing past her and out the door. Before she moved down the hallway, she turned to Grace and said, "Don't, uh, don't tell anybody about this. Okay?" Van Pelt nodded and stepped back into the bullpen, walking towards Rigsby and Cho and letting the office door swing closed behind her.

Lisbon walked down the hall on silent feet, careful not to startle the consultant. An ache was building low in her chest; an unwelcome yet familiar pain. She paused outside the door, leaning an ear close. From behind the glass, she could hear the faltered breaths and sniffles of her mourning friend. She frowned, at first from confusion, then from anger. _What the hell has happened? _

Quietly, she pushed the door open a crack further and slipped through, closing it silently behind her. Again she stopped, watching his shoulder's shake with every breath he took. The ache in her rose up a little higher. She closed her eyes, and turned her head, an internal struggle waging behind her lids.

She settled on a more professional approach, and, instead of giving him the embrace she felt he needed, she opened her mouth and let his name pour gently, questioningly, from her lips.

"Jane?"

She didn't miss his slight jump of surprise, nor the hand that reached up to wipe his cheeks.

Jane remained quiet for a moment longer, not trusting his own voice. His throat felt tight, raw. He dragged in a few more ragged breaths. Lisbon watched him, taking a step closer. She spoke again, impossibly softer than before.

"Jane? You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." The words crackled from low in his throat, sounding hollow. "I'm fine." She could hear the smile tugging at his lips, but new it didn't reach his eyes.

"Will you look at me?" She asked, the words softer than a caress.

Jane said nothing; did nothing.

Lisbon let out a low breath and dropped her eyes to the floor. Making a knee-jerk decision, she moved over to the interrogation table and leant her backside against the metal, standing beside the consultant. She crossed her arms over her chest as a reflex.

Jane kept his eyes low.

"Jane." She said again. When no reply came, she lowered her eyes to catch his, lifting his gaze back up with her. His eyes were bloodshot and teary, his cheeks stained with tracks from the flow. Lisbon couldn't stop the sighed 'oh' that past her lips, sympathy evident in her tone. "Patrick." She murmured. He swallowed, hard. "Wh-what happened?"

"I was-." He paused to clear the crackle from his throat. "I was talking to Kristina."

"Frye?" Lisbon asked, surprised. Jane nodded and continued.

"She told me that m-my daughter." Again, he stopped. His eyes closed tight and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "My daughter, she didn't-she didn't know. Didn't know what happened. Didn't feel a thing." His voice broke off at the end and a sob blocked his speech.

"Oh, Jane." Lisbon whispered. She wanted so badly to offer him some kind of comfort, but knew not how. Quashing the urge to recklessly pull him into an embrace, she reached a hand down to clasp one of his own. He was shaking hard beneath her finger tips. She breathed a ragged breath. The dull ache in her chest reached a crescendo, clashing in her throat and ripping a sound somewhere between a sob and a sigh from between her lips.

They stayed that way, for a while. Lisbon holding his hand tight in her own, brushing her thumb over his knuckles in a motion she hoped was soothing. It took Jane a few moments to gather himself, but once he did, he wiped his cheeks with one hand, holding onto the Lisbon tightly with the other.

"Has she gone home? Kristina, I mean."

Jane nodded, "I think so, yeah. Why?"

Lisbon offered him a soft, reassuring smile, but didn't answer his question. Instead, she asked;

"Are you hungry? I'm about to go get closed case pizza. No pineapple."

Jane's lips turned up in a genuine smile. "I'm sure Cho will be thrilled."

Lisbon laughed gently at his words, thankful to see him brightening up a little, even if it was only temporary.

"Did the others see me?"

"Van Pelt did, but I told her not to say anything."

Jane nodded his thanks and wiped his eyes again.

"How do I look?" He asked. Lisbon studied his face and scrunched her lips to one side.

"Too much mascara on your left eye. Oh, and those pants make you look fat."

Jane's grin widened, and Lisbon's followed suit, glad she'd stemmed the tears for now.

XxX

"Miss Frye?" Lisbon called, knocking hard against the front door to Kristina's home. It took every ounce of will power she had not to smash the door down herself.

"Oh, Agent Lisbon. I'm surprised to see you here."

"We need to talk." The Agent replied, not waiting for an invitation before walking into the hallway. Kristina closed the door behind her and followed Lisbon through into the sitting room. While Lisbon paced, the psychic gracefully took a seat on the couch, smoothing the creases out of her skirt.

"What can I help you with?"

That was invitation enough.

"How dare you?" She cried, "How dare you say those things to Jane?"

Kristina looked taken aback for a moment or two, and then settled into the situation.

"I said what he needed to hear."

Lisbon pulled a face. "You manipulated him." She growled. "You used his family, his fears, his demons to get him to believe you have some bull-crap magical powers?"

"I said what he needed to hear." She repeated.

"You _broke_ him!" Lisbon's anger was back in full swing. "Do you know how I found him? Crying, in the interrogation room where _you_ left him! Crying, Kristina. You did that to him."

"I said wha-."

"Cut the crap! I know what you said. I saw what you did."

"Those were tears of relief. He was happy to know his baby died painlessly."

"He will _never_ be happy about the circumstances in which his daughter died," Lisbon's voice dropped from shouts of anger to a gravelly deadpan, "It sickens me that you think making up some crap is going to make everything better." The lump in her throat lowered her voice to a more dangerous tone. "How can you outright _lie_ to him, and just leave him?"

Kristina swallowed.

"I wasn't lying, Agent Lisbon. Mr Jane's wife came to me; she told me."

Lisbon let out an exasperated sigh. She'd had enough.

"If you _ever_ hurt Jane again, I swear to God, I will hurt you. I won't think twice." The venom in Lisbon's tone was enough to force a somewhat serene nod from the psychic. Without a backwards glance, Lisbon let herself out through the front door and trudged to her car. She glanced at her watch and smiled; just in time to pick up the pizza.

XxX

"Sorry I'm late." She said as she wandered into the bullpen, pizza box in one hand, plates and napkins in the other.

"Don't worry about it" Van Pelt said sweetly, taking the plates and laying them on the desk. Lisbon dropped the pizza box in the centre and opened the lid.

"Dig in." She said with a smile.

Jane stood from his place on the couch and walked over, picking up a slice for himself and biting into it with some vigour.

"What took you so long?" He said around a mouthful.

"There was a queue." She lied in return. Jane smiled and lifted her hand by the wrist, making a show of glaring at her thumb. She yanked back the appendage and narrowed her eyes at Jane. "I had an errand to run." She said, blushing.

"Is that pineapple?" Cho said, pointing to a mysterious chunk of topping. Lisbon shook her head.

"No pineapple, I promise."

"What's your beef with pineapple, anyway? It's delicious." Rigsby said, shovelling in another mouthful.

"Who's bright idea was it to put fruit on a pizza?"

"Tomato's a fruit."

"No it's not."

"It's an apple."

"It's not an apple."

"Love apple."

"It's not an apple."

Lisbon watched Cho and Rigsby spar with a smile on her face, and then turned to glance at Jane when he picked up his jacket and threw it over one shoulder.

"I'm gonna call it a night." He said, stretching. A chorus of 'night's followed, and Cho and Rigsby returned to their argument. Jane was halfway across the room when he turned back and called;

"Hey, Lisbon?"

"Yeah?" She replied, turning her gaze to him.

With a sincere nod and a gentle smile, Jane said, "Thank you."

**A/N: Tada! I hope you guys didn't hate it too much, I know it's not brilliant. Also, I tried to keep everyone in character as best I could, but I find it hard to with hurt/comfort fics. **

** Please, don't hate! **

** Drop me a review, guys, you know you want to.**

** Again, if anybody wants to show their love and follow me on twitter, just visit the bottom of my profile, my name is there for the taking. And, I do follow back. **

** I look forward to crossing into the Twitter world with some of you Mentalist fans, see you soon! (I hope.) **

** Much love, Someone x**


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